Tympani stick



Dem 27, 1932. 5, mm 1,892,416

TYMPANI STICK Filed Nov. 6, 1931 JYz/rrfoff Patented Dec. 27, 19 32teams TA ES P TENTf rms EN vrrro, or cnxoeeo rntmors V TYMIANI 's'rrexApplication filed November 6, 1931. Serial no. 573,311

The sticks now used for beating kettle drums consist of handles insertedthrough the center of cushions in the form of thick disks, so thatcontact may be made with the membrane of the drum at any point around adisk orlhead. One of the objections to a stickof this kind isthat itdoes not strike a sharp blow that will produce a clean cut tone; but allof the blows, therefore the tones resulting therefrom, are muffled.

lVith the ordinary stick, the effect of blow is about the same as wouldresult from the use of a head or striker having a fiat striking surfaceof considerable area, so that the force of the blow is distributed overa considerable area of the membrane of the drum. In accordance with myinvention, while retaining the cushioning cfi'ect,'I produce more nearlya point contact between I the stick and the drum head, thereby causing asharper, clearer tone to becreated.

, The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterizedwill herem- 39 after be pointed out with particularity in the claims;but, for a full understanding of my inventionand of its objects andadvantages, reference may be had'to the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side view of a stick embodying the present invention; Fig.2 is an end view, ona larger scale, looking at the left hand or head endof the stick as it appears in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section on line 3+8 ofFig. 2; and Fig. 4 is cross section through the handle of the stick.

I Referring to the drawing, 1 represents a stick of any usual orsuitable size and shape.

' Fastened on one end of the stick is a head in the form of a thick fiatslab or block lying in a plane at right angles tothe stick and almostentirely on oneside of. the stick. Thishead comprises a core 2 of hardmate 9 rial in the form of a stake or finger. Inclosfelt, and the strip4: of soft felt.

ing' the core throughout the greater portion of its length is a pad 3 ofcomparatively hard cushioning material that covers and extends along twoopposed edges andone end of'the core.- The periphery of the head isformed of a thick strip i of comparatively soft cushioning material. Thecore may conveniently be made of wood, the pad 3 of compacted The handleis connected to the finger or core at what 9 may be'termed the upper endof the head,

namely at a point remote from the covered end. \Vhat' maybe" termed thelower half @of the head is preferably in the form of a disk whose centeris at the pointof the cov-' ered end of the core.

I. The core may project from the head proper to the opposite side of thestick and'be shaped to form a secondary head. Sometimes a compositioncalls for the striking of wood on the drum, in which case the handles ofthe sticks have heretofore been employed. However, by projecting thecore of my improved stick and forming them into an 3112b iliary head, ablow may be struckby wood 1 i through the mere turning of a stick in thehand 'about'the long'axis of'the stick and without shifting the stickend for end.

The head of the stick may be weighted and the balance of the-stickmodified by providing the secondary head with a hole into which may beinserted a block 6 oflead or other suitable material. I I

:The wooden core may be provided with a contracted portion or neck justbelow the secondaryhead 5. Thetwo ends'of the felt strip 4 may becarriedup past this neck and the strip'be fastened to the head by meansof acord or thread 7 wrapped around the ends of the strip and theinterposed neck portion of the core." VVhen' the felt strip becomes wornor soiled, it may quickly and eas-' ily be replaced by a new strip, asall that is necessary is to cut the cord or thread toleave the stripfree to be removed. i'

The head may be fastened to the handle in any suitable way. In thearrangement shownyone end of the handle is screw threaded; the screwthreaded portion of the handle is passed througha hole in the core;

and a nut 8, is applied to the projecting screw threaded end of thehandle and locks the head to the handle.

The handle may be of any desired size and shape, as heretoforeexplained. In some instances it may be advantageous to have it more orless flattened in the zone where it is gripped in the hand, and therebyenable the user always to point the core of the head in the direction inwhich the blow is to be struck. Thus, for example, the handle may beoval shaped in cross section as indicated at 10 in Figure 4.

It will thus be seen that, because the head of my improved stickcontains a hard core that is pointed at the end opposite the strikingpoint on the periphery of the head, the force of a blow struck by thehead will be transmitted to the membrane of the drum through a small orconcentrated area thereof, whereby a clear sharply-defined tone results.It will also be seen that my stick is extremely simple, and that thestriking surface may be replaced or renewed readily and at little cost.

\Vhile I have illustrated and described with particularity only a singlepreferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to theexact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend tocover all forms and arrangements which come within the definitions of myinvention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A tympani stick comprisin a handle, a flat head fixed on one end of te handle in a plane at right angles thereto; said head comprising a hardcentral finger-like core, a comparatively stifi' cushion on oppositesides of and across one end of the core, the edge of the cushion beingcurved in the arc of a circle about said end of the core, and a strip ofsoft cushioning material overlying and extending along the edge of saidcushion.

A tympani stick comprising a handle and a flat head arranged in a planeat right an les to the handle; said head comprisin a nger of hardmaterial fixed crosswise 0 said handle at one end of the latter, acushion of comparatively hard material extending over one end and twoopposed sides of said finger, a strip of comparatively soft cushioningmaterial covering the edge of the aforesaid cushion, and the other endof the finger being shaped to form a hammer device.

3. A tympani stick comprising a handle, a wooden finger fixed crosswiseof the handle at one end of the latter, said finger having an openingtherein, a weighting element in the form of a block of metal in saidopening, a thick fiat pad of comparatively hard felt extending over oneend of and along two opposed sides of the finger, and a strip ofcomparatively soft felt covering the outer edge of the layer of hardfelt.

4. A tympani stick comprising a handle, said handle having therein aflattened section, a wooden finger fixed crosswise of the handle at oneend of the latter, a thick flat pad of comparatively hard felt extendingover one end of and along two opposed sides of the finger, and a stickof comparatively soft felt covering the outer edge of the layer of hardfelt.

5. A tympani stick comprisin a handle,

a wooden finger fixed crosswise o the handle at one end of the latter, athick flat pad of

